Blazers president Larry Miller took on all questions and talked a lot at a Wednesday press conference. But like a good politican, he didn’t really say much.

The Blazers are a team at a crossroads. What are they going to do with Brandon Roy? Greg Oden? When are they going to get a permanent general manager? How do they go from a team with good pieces to a contender?

If we have a healthy Greg and a healthy Brandon we’ve got a great roster. If there’s some issues there then we’ve got to figure out what we are going to do. I think our roster is good.

If Eddy Curry had a great work ethic and could stay healthy Isiah Thomas would have been right. If the Sixers had Allen Iverson circa 2000 they’d be a lot better off. Ifs are moot. Miller sounds like the head of a team in denial — Oden is not right and may never be (he is reportedly on a January timetable), and Roy is never going to be the same player again. Yes the rest of the roster is pretty nice (LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum in particular), but without a superstar they are average. That is reality.

Regarding Brandon Roy and the amnesty clause…

The reality is that we have not – and regardless of what’s been said by John Canzano and others out there – no decision has been made on amnesty as of yet. We are still looking at every possible option that is available to us but we have not made a decision as far as Brandon or anyone at this point.

The first call that [Acting GM] Chad [Buchanan] made this morning, he counted the clock down at 5:59, 6:00 this morning, his first call was to Brandon’s agent to talk about how Brandon is doing, when we can sit down and have a conversation with Brandon. With everything that Brandon has done for this organization, there’s no way we would make a decision like that without having conversations with them, without evaluating where he is and seeing what’s going on with him.

Miller later made it sound like Roy would be part of the Blazers training camp, but that amnesty is not out of the question.

As for hiring a GM to really chart a direction for the franchise, there is no timetable.

We put (the search) on pause. It continues to be on pause. I and the rest of us are confident that with Chad (Buchanan, acting GM), with [coach] Nate [McMillan], with myself, with the people that we have in place here, we can make the decisions that this team needs made to be able to move this team forward and to be ready to go into next season. We know what we need in order to get better. We’ve been looking at all the free agents that are out there that can help us.

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.